smartphone

Cell phone sales around the world took a nose dive in the fourth quarter, as the weakened economy hurt demand for new devices. But sales of smartphones continued to grow.

According to IDC, overall sales of cell phones in the fourth quarter were down about 12.6 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2008, manufacturers shipped a total of 289.0 million units, compared to 330.8 million units shipped during the fourth quarter a year ago.

''The fourth quarter was the perfect storm of factors to produce this result,'' Ramon Llamas, senior … Read more

On Wednesday, Garmin and Asus announced a strategic alliance to develop and distribute co-branded GPS-enabled smartphones to be known as the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone series. This includes the original Garmin Nuvifone, which was introduced over a year ago, and will now be rebranded as the Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60.

The partnership isn't a strange one, considering that Asus has been working on the original Nuvifone for over a year as the ODM (original device manufacturer). Both companies still plan to ship the Nuvifone G60 in the first half of 2009. In addition, Garmin-Asus said it will offer several Nuvifone models this … Read more

In less than two weeks, Acer plans to unveil its first line of smartphones, but a picture of at least one of the purported models is already making the rounds online.

On Wednesday, the Boy Genius Report blog posted the blurry photo to the right. It has a swivel keyboard and a touch screen--according to BGR's source--but it's unclear which mobile OS it will run, Windows Mobile or Android.

If this is indeed one of the handsets to be introduced at Acer's event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we won't have to wait long … Read more

Though we're only two months into 2009, it's not too much of a stretch to say the Palm Pre is the most anticipated smartphone of the year.

Ever since it was announced at CES 2009, the Pre has created quite a buzz for its functionality and interface, and in our opinion, it comes closest to rivaling the iPhone pound for pound. Of course, the question remains of whether the Pre will actually deliver, but perhaps more at the forefront of people's minds: when will it be available?

At CES, Palm and Sprint said they expect to ship … Read more

While Funambol CEO Fabrizio Capobianco thinks Dell's move into smartphones is a good idea or, at least, the way it's going about it. I can't agree. Has he forgotten Dell's MP3 player?

The rest of the world certainly has.

In the smartphone market, as Capobianco notes, Dell is planning to do an open-source Google Android-based phone and a Windows Mobile-based phone, which he thinks makes sense:

I think it is a smart move. They do not take risk, they do not expose themselves too much, they will pick the winner later. The only risk of not … Read more

Updated Feb. 4, 12:13 p.m., PT: This post has been updated with more details about the fixes and new features included in the RC33 firmware update.

On Tuesday, T-Mobile announced that it will start rolling out maintenance release (1.1 RC33) to T-Mobile G1 customers this week. The update will be delivered over the air and should reach all owners within the next two weeks, the carrier said.

Unfortunately, what it didn't reveal are the exact details of what's included in the release, simply stating that it would provide "new features and software updates." … Read more

A company called PINoptic says it has a new picture-based security mechanism to make smartphones more secure.

The company claims that its new software will make a smartphone 37 times more secure than using a simple four-digit personal identification number.

As smartphones become increasingly popular, experts warn they could be targets for hackers. These devices provide access to corporate networks, e-mail accounts, and sometimes corporate data. Stolen smartphones can also provide criminals with plenty of information to steal personal identities. And because they're made to be portable, smartphones can be lifted easily from pockets or purses or even left … Read more

We've heard rumors of the T-Mobile G2, but we're always weary of such speculation until we get the official word from the carriers or cell phone manufacturer. However, the likelihood of a T-Mobile G1 successor is high and now, it's all but just been about confirmed by T-Mobile.

In an interview with Fierce Wireless, Neville Ray, T-Mobile's senior VP of engineering, revealed that the carrier is planning to release more 3G-capable smartphones and Google Android devices in 2009. "As the year progresses there will be a significant number of HSPA-capable smartphones. We will be launching … Read more

OK, so Dell and Apple have been locked in a marketing war for years. Dell has long been considered the default PC for enterprise, while Apple has positioned itself as the most influential consumer computer brand in the world. But Apple has branched out from computing with the iPod and, of course, the iPhone.

Now it's looking more and more likely that Dell might be going the way of the smartphone, as well, but don't look for an iPhone competitor, at least not at first. Dell tried something similar to take on the iPod, but the effort felt … Read more